"The temple of the Lord which is upon
mount Moriah; which yet is not to be understood literally of that
material temple, but mystically of the church of God; as appears from
the flowing of all nations to it, which was not to that temple, nor
indeed was fulfilled 'till that temple was destroyed."

"Isaiah isn't naÃ¯ve. He is not a Pollyanna prophet. This vision of weapons of war turned into agricultural tools, images of death-dealing turned into food-producing is a promise for 'the days to come.' But biblical visions in both testaments come to us from the future, longing to shape the days in which we are living."

"Can This World Be Saved?" Bryan Bibb, ON Scripture, Odyssey Networks, 2013. Video: "Beating Swords into Plowhares to End Gun Violence".

" If we 'lay aside the works of darkness,' we will see that violence is a problem to be solved and not part of God's plan to destroy the world. We will use our resources to shape a sustainable and flourishing community rather than instruments of war."

"One of the important aspects of looking forward to something better is to look at ourselves. The good news is that the light of God, God's gracious presence, means we can choose to be the kind of people who are essentially living light, living out of a spirit of kindness and generosity and compassion."

"What a simple summons then, to walk
in the Lord's light, in divine glory, in the path of God's instruction.
But it is not easy. What trust does it demand of God's people, to be led
by teaching and walking on the path revealed by truth?"

"But if the Bible focuses huge
attention on going home, how is it different from the nostalgic call to
go on home, to hug your parents, to eat some rich food, to sit about the
fire and sing happy songs of your youth? Isaiah 2 does have a rather
different take on the hope of homecoming."

"How can God be both a God of
peace and a God of war? The ancient Israelites reached no consensus
about holy war, just war, and pacifism. Yet Scripture faithfully
records their long and difficult debates, for the diversity of
viewpoints arose out of a deep faith in God who had brought the
people out of Egypt."